Hello, my name is 4non. I have recently noticed the lack of in-depth, detailed tutorials or guides on how to PvP and on how to survive in MCSG. I decided to make one that includes everything that I've learned in the 2 years of experience that I have from playing on several factions servers and PvP minigames. I know that my stats aren't that great in MCSG, I played a lot more before they reset the leaderboards after beta.
I have divided this guide into three different categories, because I like to be organized. The Survival category is for MCSG specifically. The PvP category is for PvP in general. The Weapons category is for explaining what certain things can be used for in PvP.
SURVIVAL
- Organize your inventory, especially your hotbar.
When you're in a fight with another player, organization is necessary If your sword is in a random slot on your hotbar every time, you'll have to think of what number it's on before you press it. If you get used to having a sword in slot 1, and maybe a decoy weapon in slot 2, and a bow in slot 3, it'll be easier to toggle between them. NEVER scroll through items unless you're being chased. You don't have much time to react if you're in a fight. If you don't need something from your inventory, just toss it out. It saves time in the long run.
- Don't wear armor unless you have a weapon.
Let's say you just ran to the cornucopia. You got some iron armor and a diamond, so you put the iron armor on and show off your diamond to all of the people that have the capability of killing you with the weapon they found at corn. That wouldn't end up well for you, now would it? When people see a person with no armor, and nothing in their hand walking around (especially if it's a steve skin) they will pay more attention to the people that have things that they need, and will be more likely to leave you alone.
- Use everything to your advantage.
PvP isn't just about how fast you can click, or what kind of armor a person has. For example, you can trap a person in a room with a cake if you manage to get one from cornucopia or from someone else. If you see a person in full iron armor and a diamond sword trapped in a pit, kill him/her before deathmatch to give you a higher chance of winning.. even if you don't get any of his loot from it. Use high ground to knock your foes off and deal them some fall damage. If you have lower ground, you have .5 of a block farther reach distance.
If it's your first time playing on a map, then chest routes are definitely not necessary. You can still win by getting OP loot from cornucopia. Once you've played the map a little more, try to find a route that you can take to go from chest to chest. If you're totally lost on where chests are in a map, you can google MCSG chest routes (for your specific map) and find results. Be careful though, since these routes have been publicly published online, other people may take the same route.
Let's say you see someone 5 minutes into the game with full chainmail armor and an iron sword. Let's say he has 2 diamonds and a stick, but he just needs to get back to corn. Let's say you have half leather and a stone sword. You know he's probably going to win if you don't kill him early on anyways. People may say to not worry too much about winning, but let's be honest. You play to win. If you're going to lose either way, just go for it. Who knows, you may just kill him, get his awesome loot, and end up winning the game.
How about we use our last scenario. You decide to just quit the game because you know you're going to die anyways. Or maybe he's killing you, and you decide that you want to not give him the points he deserves for killing you. If you just leave, then it's game over. Absolutely no chance of you winning. Why not die fighting? It's better than taking the easy way out.
You can use this tip in real life as well. You will never get any progress done on anything unless you have a goal. You need to have something that you're trying to accomplish. Everyone's goal on MCSG should be to try to reach the top of the leaderboards. Commit to it. Don't try it and and just give up halfway through. Also, per match you should have the goal of winning the game. Don't leave just because your teammate leaves. Keep trying no matter what.
Let's be honest.. we've all cheated in some way at one point or another. I know it can be fun, but you will never reach your goal if you threaten the possibility of reaching it by doing something so incredibly stupid out of pure laziness. You will never improve at anything in life by cheating. You should obey the rules of MCSG, and not exploit any potentially harmful glitches such as the Fist Glitch.
PvP
A person with decent gear notices that you only have a stone sword, so he charges at you. You strafe to the side and murder him with the enchanted diamond sword you had hidden away. See how easy that was? If you can make a person believe that you're just another noob, they will attack. You will most likely kill them very easily if you can surprise them like this.
- Use everything as a weapon.
Fishing rods, cakes, lava, water, fall damage, bows, fishing rods, swords, axes, flint and steel, cobwebs, mobs, traps, glitches, crashes. These can all be used as weapons in your favor. Underneath the PvP category will be all of the uses for all of the items that I listen above.
Hide behind corners and knock them into a pit as they run by. Jump at someone from above. Snipe them from afar. All of these things and many more can be used to surprise the enemy, and giving them that much less of a reaction time, which allows you to hit them way more.
- Strafe, and don't do what the enemy expects.
If you're running away from an enemy with the most OP armor in the game and you hardly have anything, the guy probably thinks that he's already won. Quickly spinning around and placing a lava bucket right in front of where he's walking will do the trick. He probably didn't expect it, and you got away. Same thing goes with strafing. Don't just stand there motionless hitting your target repeatedly. Jump around. Spin in circles around them. Use fire. Disorientate them.
- Use your bow, even at close range.
In my honest opinion, bow spamming is not a bad thing. It could be annoying, but it works. You should use a bow whenever the enemy is not in range. Lets say it's deathmatch in MCSG. The OP guy is trying to run at you, but he can't get to you because you keep shooting him back with a bow or a fishing rod. Eventually you can break the cycle and attack him with a sword, or even kill him if you were using a bow.
- Potions and enchantments are key.
If you have the opportunity to enchant or use potions, do it. Enchantments make your gear way more powerful, and potions make you harder, better, faster, and stonger. (Lol daft punk)
WEAPONS
Useful for getting quick hits on an enemy. In case anyone needs to know: Diamond Axe = Iron sword. Iron Axe = Stone Sword. Stone Axe = Wooden Sword. Wooden Axe = Try to avoid it.
Useful for keeping the enemy away from you. With a bow you can deal a greater amount of damage, but for breaking someone's sprint or just to startle them, a fishing rod is more useful because of the fact that the bobber shoots instantly. Fishing rods will no longer work for PvP in 1.7+, so try to not rely on them as much.
In MCSG specifically, cake can be used as a barricade that requires the enemy to eat their way out. It's hilarious, and extremely effective.
- Flint and steel, mobs, cobwebs, lava, water
All five of these disorientate and/or reduce the movement of your enemy, which can be a huge help when escaping from somebody, or just causing a distraction. Some may even kill the enemy.
Servers that allow exploiting glitches and crashes aren't very common, but if you can find a way to make your enemy glitch out or crash, you've definitely won. Traps are almost the same thing, they're pretty helpless once trapped.
And that's all.. for now. Please comment or PM me if you have any suggestions for things to add.
